The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 99
PT. 16 ṬĀHĀ 25. Go thou to Pharaoh; he has indeed bounds. '2256 exceeded R. 2. all 26. Moses said, 'My Lord, open out for me my breast, 2257 27. And make my task easy for me; 28. And loose the knot of my tongue;2258 -form- "26:14. gives their number as 13. For a detailed discussion about the disparity in the account of the Bible and that of the Quran see 7:134 & 17:102. Suffice it to say here that the signs were really 9 in number; the Bible has only unnecessarily enlarged their number. 2256. Commentary: Moses now receives his commission to go to Pharaoh as a Messenger of God. The words, he has indeed exceeded all bounds, show that by his misdeeds Pharaoh had already incurred God's wrath and had made himself deserving of Divine punishment. But, God, out of His mercy, sent Moses to him in order to warn him of the impending punishment if he did not give up his evil ways and to give him a last opportunity to repent and reform. 2257. Commentary: The present and the following few verses show that at first Moses did not feel himself equal to the great task which was entrusted to him. They also shed some light on the CH. 20 اذْهَبْ إِلى فِرْعَوْنَ اِنَّهُ طَغَى قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِى وَيَرْ لي أَمْرِى وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي necessary qualifications that a preacher should possess in order to succeed in his mission. The following are some of them: (a) He must be inspired with zeal and enthusiasm for his mission and must possess strong arguments to support his cause (v:26); (b) his teachings must be easy of comprehension (v:27); (c) he should be a good speaker (v:28); (d) he should always be on the lookout for favourable opportunities for his discourse to be listened to with attention and respect (v:29); and (e) if possible he may have a good companion to share his responsibility and burden (v:30). 2013 2258. Commentary: Moses seems to have suffered from an impediment in his tongue. He does not appear to be an eloquent speaker. But it is not eloquence alone that makes a man a successful preacher. More than that it is conviction in the truth of one's mission and one's zeal for that mission and readiness to suffer for it that greatly make up for the deficiency of fluency. Moses